Freshest taste on waterfront

While it’s still technically spring, Taste of Auckland will give you a taste of summer this week as the popular foodie festival celebrates its 10th anniversary.

Ten years ago at the Ellerslie Racecourse, Auckland’s top chefs were serving up prawn cocktails and wacky test tube creations — one of the hottest culinary trends of 2009.

Director Rob Eliott recalled a handful of foodie trends which have since vanished from our menus.

Molecular gastronomy — the art of turning chemical reactions into haute cuisine which was hot in many of Auckland’s top restaurants — was like a “dirty word” now, according to Eliott.

“If you wanted to have food in test tubes and all that sort of stuff, you went to Euro. That was Simon [Gault] at his sort of mad scientist phase.”

Fast forward a decade to this year, and the latest and greatest delicacies range from fermented sriracha to “blue cheese” whipped up from cashews.

For the first time in the festival’s history, eatery Miann will bring a dessert-only menu to the table.

The restaurant aims to prove that dehydrated food was no longer survival food with its lemon icecream dish featuring meringue crisps and dehydrated fruit salad. For the first time, this year Taste is being held on Auckland’s waterfront, spread across The Cloud, Shed 10 and all outdoor spaces of Queens Wharf.

For Eliott the move was a dream come true and the extra space would be welcome. He said the number of restaurants showcased at the event had doubled since 2009, while attendee numbers had increased three-fold.